Divine martial arts.
Most martial arts referred to as "divine" are those that significantly exceed normal limits, classified as such because they allow for extraordinary transcendence.
Rather than staying at the peak, these martial arts break through the limits of human capability, leading to transcendence.
That's what people refer to as divine martial arts.
For example, among the Three Masters:
The Sword Master's Moonlight Swordsmanship is based on the Moon Intent Heart Technique.
The Conqueror Master's Heaven-Shattering Fist isn't part of his family's traditional heart techniques but a unique one he developed independently.
As for the Heavenly Master, he likely uses the martial arts of the Namgung family, which has been a cornerstone for centuries.
All of these are considered divine martial arts.
Martial arts that allow humans to transcend their limits, break through their shells, and rise to even greater heights.
That's why they are called divine.
So, what about the Gu family's Nine Flame Wheel Art?
**"It's divine."**
I asked myself this, and the answer was clear.
The Nine Flame Wheel Art is indeed a divine martial art.
I could tell by watching my father, by seeing Gu Hui-bi, and, amusingly, even by looking at someone like me.
The Gu family's martial arts are divine.
Divine martial arts are, in other words, opportunities.
Opportunities to surpass the limitations of the human body.
These opportunities are given to those who have learned them, but whether they can seize them depends on their talent and effort.
Grasping the opportunity, increasing your realm, and gradually moving toward where you wish to reach.
At least, that's how I think of the framework of heart techniques.
And the secret techniques contained within these martial arts serve as indicators, revealing these paths one by one.
The Gu family has a total of five secret techniques.
The first allows one, upon reaching the level where they can produce heat using internal energy, to contain that heat within the body, maximizing physical abilities.
This was what I had been forcefully using right after attaining the Second Star of the Nine Flame Wheel Art after regression.
The second secret technique is the ability to produce flames.
If there's a difference between the Gu family's martial arts and other flame techniques, it's that the flames of the Gu family don't exist merely to burn things.
**"It sounds ridiculous, right? That flames don't exist to burn things."**
Even after hearing this and eventually grasping the deeper meaning, to me, fire was just fire.
Regardless of what the ancestors intended.
How absurd.
**"They sought to create their own sun."**
Just as each heart technique has its own meaning, the Nine Flame Wheel Art carries its own intent.
Our ancestors wanted to create a sun, even though there was already one in the sky.
...
Although I vaguely came to understand the deeper meaning later on, I couldn't fully comprehend it.
**"Is that why I couldn't reach the peak?"**
Was the reason I remained at Nine Stars in my previous life, never reaching Ten Stars, because I couldn't fully accept the deeper meaning?
No, that wasn't it.
I simply couldn't surpass it.
There was no need for excuses.
Nothing could be more pathetic.
The third secret technique is called "Crimson Sky."
It allows the martial artist's energy to dye the sky red.
An extremely trained heart technique can invade the heavens and color them with one's own aura.
When my father came to the Black Night Palace to break the formation, the sky was red.
At that level, could one still be called human?
How could a person manipulate the sky at will?
Reaching such a point, one would have begun to break free from the shell of humanity.
And the fourth.
The martial art I was about to use was the fourth.
**"Flame Jewel."**
The secret technique **"Flame Jewel."**
By drawing out internal energy, causing heat to surge within the body, and capturing all the emitted flames without letting any escape, you condense them into a sphere in your palm.
**Huuuuh!**
The meridians through which the energy flowed expanded.
My heart pounded so fiercely that I could hear the thumping in my ears.
**Whoooosh!**
The night sky inverted.
The once-dark sky, adorned with countless stars, began to brighten as I used the heat within my body as fuel to ignite the flame.
Though the range was narrow and the light wasn't dazzling enough to require one to close their eyes, at least in that spot, it felt as if a sun had risen.
**Craaaack!**
The fiercely swirling flames screamed.
Suppressing their desire to surge forward and dragging them into a confined space must have been excruciating.
My veins bulged, and my forehead was drenched in sweat.
My arms, stiff with tension, showed just how much effort it took to control this.
Originally, this was a secret technique I shouldn't be able to use right now.
Like "Crimson Sky," it's something you can only start to grasp after extreme training.
**"I'm just forcing it through."**
Because my internal energy was disproportionately high for my level, I could manage this much.
Just barely.
This was a work combining training in compression and amplification, countless realizations from my previous life, and the accumulation of fortuitous encounters in this life.
Only because the Nine Flame Wheel Art had reached the Third Star could I barely attempt it.
**Oooong—**
Enduring such pressure and gathering it into one place, before I knew it, a bright red jewel hovered above my palm, emitting a beautiful light.
Looking at it, I thought.
**"It took a few seconds to create."**
Between five and seven seconds.
To others, it might seem like a fleeting moment, but among those who have surpassed the peak, it's more than enough time for life and death to be decided.
In other words, it's still impractical to use this technique in actual combat.
**"At least not in one-on-one situations."**
To cast it, your body becomes rigid.
Because you have to control your internal energy extremely precisely, one slight misstep could twist your meridians, leading to Qi Deviation.
In short.
You're defenseless for those few seconds.
In other words.
**"It's a 'you die, or I die' kind of thing."**
This was the problem that arose when trying to use something beyond your level.
In my previous life, I could use it while talking, mocking, and even stepping on someone, but now I realized how pathetically weak I'd become.
**"Of course."**
As for whether it's worth using despite enduring this state.
**"...I have to use it."**
I would nod without hesitation.
Among the Gu family's secret techniques, this was almost the only one that could be used in actual combat.
Its destructive power was immense, proportional to the amount of internal energy put into it.
The fifth secret technique is similar, but I can't use that one yet.
**Oooong...**
**"Hoo..."**
After creating it, I exhaled the breath I'd been holding.
As I said, to use it, you have to be defenseless for a few seconds.
The reason I'm still unharmed is because:
**"It's because the Sword Master didn't do anything."**
Moreover, I was confident she wouldn't do anything.
Of course.
She had brought me all the way here just to see this.
Hiding my slightly trembling hands, I looked at the Sword Master.
"Thank you for waiting."
I tried to conceal the fatigue in my voice, but no response came from the Sword Master.
She was looking at me with wide eyes, as if she'd been greatly shocked.
**"I didn't want to go this far because I thought she'd react like this."**
Secret techniques are, after all, collections of realizations.
They show the insights a martial artist has gained on their path.
In this small jewel lay the realizations I'd accumulated throughout my life.
Including those from my previous life.
At the Sword Master's level, she could probably see to some extent.
That's why she was reacting that way.
To her eyes, it must seem like I possess immense realizations for my age.
She wouldn't know how I'd lived and struggled in my past life.
She'd just see me as someone with incredible talent.
An utterly unbelievable talent.
"...This is..."
It was natural for the Sword Master to have such an expression.
After staring at the jewel in my hand for a long time in amazement, she finally muttered, as if feeling empty.
"...You were at a much higher place than I expected."
"I'm not that high. As you can see, I'm trembling."
It wasn't a lie.
To maintain a jewel slightly larger than a fingertip, I had to use more than half of my internal energy and my entire body.
If I didn't retrieve it and let it explode, it would cause a massive explosion, engulfing a wide area in flames.
Holding and controlling such a powerful energy was incredibly taxing.
**"And the reason I used it."**
Because the Sword Master in front of me was someone who could prevent any casualties even if something went wrong.
As I looked at her, wiping away a bead of sweat, the Sword Master, who had been in shock, moved her lips.
"Do you know what people call your generation these days?"
An unexpected question.
Wondering what she meant, I answered.
"What was it... The Generation of Falling Stars. Something like that, right?"
"Yes, the Generation of Falling Stars. A fitting term."
They shine brightly.
Even in the not-so-distant past, and even when the Sword Master was among the younger generation, many shone brightly.
But the current era held an exceptionally brilliant light.
The main reason they're called the Generation of Falling Stars is because it's an era with the most talented individuals, as if stars had fallen.
And also.
It's a name engraved with the hope that such lights will take responsibility for the future of the martial world.
Of course.
It had nothing to do with me.
**"In such circumstances."**
The Sword Master looked at the red jewel in my palm.
From that jewel, a bright light emanated.
In the middle of winter.
The weather should have been filled with biting cold.
But from the moment the jewel appeared, the area was filled with heat.
The once-dark surroundings were brightly illuminated.
As if.
"It's like you're holding the sun in your hand."
"...How could anyone hold something so terrifying?"
My expression twisted at the Sword Master's words.
What nonsense.
How could anyone hold something like that? You can't even touch it in the first place.
At my denial, the Sword Master smiled slightly and said:
"Or perhaps, you are the sun."
"Why are you turning me into something like that on your own? I'm human."
Tsk.
If things had gone as usual, I would have let it go.
**"But if I didn't do it properly, she wouldn't let it go."**
We'd met before.
We'd talked.
Couldn't she just let it slide a bit?
I even saved her!
**"Though I did gobble up that energy."**
Anyway, couldn't she cut me some slack?
**"I didn't plan on using this at least."**
I hadn't intended to use this technique in front of others for the time being.
In the end, I pathetically used it just to pass this one test.
Thanks to that, the Sword Master seemed satisfied now, but I was the problem.
**"Why does she expect so much from me?"**
She should take better care of her own disciple.
How troublesome.
Still, it seemed I'd managed to satisfy her somehow.
Perhaps sensing that.
"I'm sorry. After all, I tested you. I apologize."
Suddenly, the Sword Master offered an apology.
"Yes. Thanks to you, everyone is staring at me."
Of course, I had no intention of accepting her apology.
It wasn't just the Sword Master.
The young talents around us were watching from a distance, having avoided my flames.
The instructors observing were also looking this way in surprise.
"I don't know why they're staring just because I did something unusual."
"How could they not look?"
At my curt remark, the Sword Master chuckled.
"It's like witnessing the birth of a comet."
"Please stop flattering me. It's making me uncomfortable."
How burdensome.
Was this what she was aiming for?
Did she want me to stand out more in others' eyes?
If that's what she wanted, it's troublesome.
I had no intention of standing out that much.
"...What do you want from me?"
"What would I want? Just..."
She sheathed the sword she was holding and continued:
"I just hope you'll emit more of your light and stand tall at the top."
"Anyone hearing this might think I'm part of the Mount Hua Sect."
"Since you're an honorary disciple, isn't it similar?"
"Oh."
Right.
I did receive that.
I had asked the Plum Blossom Sword Saint to grant me that title for future convenience, in case any questions arose about the Mount Hua Taoist Qi within me.
Of course, it's merely honorary.
It didn't justify the Sword Master's interest in me.
I snorted.
"Thank you for accommodating my unreasonable request."
The Sword Master seemed to be wrapping up the test.
**"...Did I pass?"**
"Of course. Not passing you would be absurd."
At the final confirmation of passing, the suffocating feeling eased a bit.
If she hadn't been satisfied even after this, I would have just overturned everything.
After a brief silence.
She intended to retrieve her sword and leave.
But I remained, not cutting off my energy.
Perhaps finding it odd that I was still standing there, the Sword Master asked:
"Why are you still like that?"
I didn't answer.
She must have thought it strange that I hadn't retrieved the energy sphere in my hand.
I said to her:
"I told you earlier, didn't I?"
"Eh?"
"I trust you'll handle the cleanup perfectly."
"What does that... mean?"
The Sword Master tilted her head, not understanding, but then, as if realizing something, her eyes widened.
She looked even more shocked than when I'd shown her the secret technique.
She finally caught on.
Perhaps she didn't know.
That I wouldn't just let things slide.
I was already annoyed.
Feeling like I'd been made to perform like a clown after being dragged out here.
I couldn't just leave quietly.
"Surely... child."
"I showed it to you, but I haven't retrieved it yet."
Of course, it was a lie.
If I wanted, I could have dispersed it appropriately.
But I had no intention of doing so.
"Wait...!"
"Please handle the cleanup."
Seeing the Sword Master hurriedly gathering her energy.
**Clench.**
I clenched the fist that had been open.
Then.
**Whooooosh!**
An immense heat burst forth from my body.
**Booooom!**
The next day arrived.
If the first day was for the families to conduct their tests.
The second day was for those affiliated with sects.
Knowing this, as everyone gathered at the designated time.
"What do you mean?" Yeong-Pung, who had come up with his seniors to take the test, heard something strange.
"The test period has been extended?"
Originally, the test for the families, which should have ended yesterday, was postponed by a day.
How could that be?
Since it's a test hosted by the Alliance, extending the period shouldn't be possible.
They said they'd be holding the entrance test again tomorrow or the day after.
"...Something happened last night, so we had no choice."
The Sword Master's expression, conveying this, looked unusually tired.
Should I say she seemed exhausted?
**"What on earth happened to her?"**
Yeong-Pung couldn't understand.
When he first heard that his martial aunt would be participating as an instructor, he wondered why.
But now, he couldn't understand for a different reason.
**"She's tired from an entrance test?"**
To Yeong-Pung, it was unthinkable that the Sword Master, a master he couldn't even hope to look up to yet, would be so fatigued after just one day as an instructor.
Moreover, it wasn't mental exhaustion.
She looked physically tired.
Which made it even harder to understand.
But...
"...What is this?"
"What on earth is this?"
"What happened?"
When they arrived at the designated location for the test, Yeong-Pung had a vague idea of the reason.
It seemed this was the issue.
"...Wow."
Yeong-Pung unknowingly muttered at the sight before him.
"Did a meteor fall or something...?"
At the location where the test was supposed to be held, a massive hole, easily over thirty jang (about 90 meters) in radius, had formed as if something had exploded.
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